08-25-07: Johnson finally decided
to paint it the same color as the Ivo Showboat 4-engine car after
he saw that car finished.Johnson
made the decision on Tuesday the 7th of August. By Friday he
had the correct paint ordered and had prevailed upon his body
shop pal, Tim Pombert, to prep and paint it. I said, "Should
be no problem, you have over a week to do it". Then he was
able to contact Bob Thompson, who did the gold leaf on the 4-motor
and Joe Passelaqua's Smirnoff and he agreed to do the lettering
on a timely basis. Joe Passelacqua helped by providing his "studio"
for Bob to work in.

Here the car was ready to go
to Glendora to be loaded into the NHRA Museum trailer and go
to Indy for the US Nationals Cacklefest.

Indianapolis, IN August 29 -
September 03, 2007: One of the few things drag racers will almost
unanimously agree on is that the U.S.Nationals was, is and always
will be the premier event of drag racing. Period. Although much
has changed over the last 53 years, Indy still codgers up emotions
felt nowhere else. For many those emotions were steeped by the
invitation only Cacklefest dubbed the "Select Sixteen".

On Friday 10 of cars, including
the Barnstormer, were taken to Don Schumacher Racing Open House
on Nitro Alley in Indy for static fire-ups. It was a highlight
of a great day that raised $17,000 for Riley Hospital for Children.
Steve Gibbs and the NHRA Museum staff were very gracious to participate
along with several prominent Midwestern cars.

Howard Haight filled
in for TV Tommy Ivo in the "Barnstormer."

For the first time ever there
were two Cacklefest's held at one event - one on Saturday evening
and one on Monday prior to all the final rounds using two different
formats. Saturday night, all the cars were paraded and then lined
up in front of the grandstand, facing away, so the noise and
fumes would go to the fans in the stands. On a signal, they all
lit up at once and ran as long as possible. On Monday all the
cars were lined up on the track beyond the finish line, half
the cars in the right lane and half in the left. They were push
started one at a time and were stopped aiming at the edge of
the track. For both events, the fans went NUTS!

At the US Nationals Ron Johnson's
"Ivo Barnstormer" got a prime spot showing off its
new paint/lettering job.

Tommy Ivo was unable to attend
the Nationals so Top Fuel pilot Howard Haight filled in for both
Cacklefest sessions.

Jim Coffey. an engineer in R
& D for MacDonalds, came all the way from the Western suburbs
of Chicago in his '57 Ranchero to be a volunteer push car.

The car made its next appearance
in Escondido, CA on September 16th with Ivo in the seat for the
5th Annual Escondido Night of Fire. Thousands showed up to see,
hear and smell the two cacklecar sessions staged by 19 cars.

October 12-14, 2007 - Bakersfield,
CA and the California Hot Rod Reunion when the Barnstormer, in
full dress, made its official Cacklefest debut at the granddaddy
of them all. It's first call to duty was a fire-up following
the Honorees Ceremony at the Double Tree Hotel on Friday night.

Prior to the activities Zane
Shubert, Ron Johnson, Ron Goodsell, Bob Meyer, unknown and Tom
Ivo gathered for a shot. There's about 450 years of drag racing
history in this photo.

The Barnstormer was one of five
(the most ever) to have their official coming out party at the
Double Tree.

After attending the Honoree
Awards, Tom Ivo is poised and ready in the Barnstormer.

Kol Johnson backed the
engine down.

Ron Johnson fired the
Chrysler hemi.

Back at the track......

The Barnstormer in its
cozy home prior to coming out to play.

Ex Top Fuel driver Don
Ewald tries out the seat - perfect fit.

The Barnstormer with
Johnson's other car - Shubert & Herbert - in the background.

On Saturday the car was parked
in the Justice Brothers Display in the The Grove with Swamp Rat
6 and Mooneyes. All three cars were part of the U. S. Drag Racing
Team which went to England in 1964. The remaining members of
the team had jointly received the Justice Brothers "TV Tommy
Ivo" Spotlight Award the night before during the awards
ceremony. Tommy Ivo was set up near the cars handing out specially
created posters which he was signing for his fans.

Cacklefest proper kicked off
Saturday evening before a full house with a parade and introduction
of the 64 participants including Tom Ivo in the Barnstormer.

After all the cars were taken
to the top end of the track, the push starts began and never
seemed to end. Being a featured car, Ivo was one of the last
to come down the fire-up road and make his turn onto the track.

Once he reached his parking spot
the potent Chrysler hemi continued to make its music until it
ran out of fuel.

Ron Johnson and Tom Ivo were
all smiles after a very successful "official debut"
Cacklefest.

On May 18th, 2013 Ron, Kol and
Richard took the Barnstormer to Tucson, AZ. For the Saturday
event, the Ron Miller Memorial/Standard 1320 race at Tucson International
Drag strip. The event was open to the public but was mostly for
the participants. Late in the afternoon, Kol suited up and did
a burnout in the Barnstormer. This was Kols first time
doing a burnout in something other than a Nostalgia Junior Fueler
and afterwards, Ron said he did a great job. You can hear the
throttle modulation as Kol feathered the throttle.